Sunday, May 8, 2011

Listening

As our day ends, we have a new theme… something else that binds our team together… WORDS.  Yes, we as women have words in common!  Although we have loved our conversations, the primary part of our conversations today where we have seen God work has been in the listening part.  If I have ever seen a verse lived out, it was seeing God’s will be done in the lives of our team as we learned to be quick to listen, slow to speak and [slow to become angry]… Wow, do we have some listening stories for you!

After a bit of freshening up after a salty step in the Dead Sea, we attended an Arabic Baptist Church.  Oh what sweet sounds we heard!  Such a blessing to sing with our Arabic and other nationalities friends the hymn “How Great Thou Art”.  We opened the service praying for brothers and sisters in Christ in Egypt.  The news had not yet reached us of the church fire(s).  The pastor of the church where we were thanked God that even though we do not know the future, just knowing God- that is enough!  We listened to a sermon preached in Arabic on Romans 3:21-31.  We are appropriately reminded that none of us is righteous according to our own efforts.  You might ask if we stood out- a bit, considering that we wore headsets so that we could hear the translation. 

Following the service, we visited with several people.  One young man with whom we visited is here in this country attending university.  He has been seeking fellowship with other believers, and has asked for prayer.  He is concerned about his family, much of whom is still in his home country where it is not safe for followers of Jesus.  Please join us in praying for this young man!

After church,  we went to the home of R and N.  What beautiful people!  They opened their home and served us yet another amazing meal.   We learned that R had been cooking for at least two days, and had not gone to Costco for anything (haha).  We were joined for dinner by K and his wife R, and another R and C.  OK, so the code initials just isn’t going to work… almost forgot- T and C (who are visiting here after reading the book Radical by David Platt.  They have been so challenged by the book that they are investigating several avenues here where God might be moving them .  we prayed for them after dinner as they seek God’s plan- so difficult to leave ALL that is familiar, secure and comfortable…)  So, that was our group… plus the 6 of us.  

At our table, T (who is from the US) said that we MUST ask K about his testimony.  After quite a bit of prodding, K told us a different testimony… what he shared was shockingly extraordinary (thank you to my personal thesaurus who gave me another word besides amazing).  As it turns out- a woman and a man (her father) were visiting their church tonight (the Arabic Baptist Church).   The two of them are new to their faith in Jesus Christ.  The father had put his faith in Christ after his brother had pursued his son-in- law and daughter  in an honor-killing type situation.  The son/ brother had been a member of an extreme Muslim group, and had himself put his faith in Christ.  We listened in utter fascination as his story unraveled.  Sitting at the table with us was a man who has witnessed to a multitude of people and faced security issues we could only dream of… more like a nightmare to us…

To the people we were with, they have truly found that to follow Jesus is the only thing worth living for.

For dessert, we gathered in their guest/ dining room (did I mention how hospitable they have been???), drinking Turkish coffee, and again, captivated by more testimonies.  K finally shared with us how he came to know Jesus Christ: He grew up in a family in which the grandmother was the first generation of believers.  She brought her husband and siblings to the Lord.  And her children.  And then her grandchildren began to follow Jesus.  But K, he wasn’t sure he wanted to follow Jesus.  He wanted to pursue happiness.  So he did.  He tried converting to Islam.  He tried drugs, drinking and money.  He worked in the biggest nightclub in the city.  Then, through a multitude of witnesses for Jesus, He came face to face with God, had a vision (after the death of a man who had months earlier witnessed and challenged him about where he would go when he died), and put his faith in Jesus Christ.  One one condition- that God would bring his five friends who had sold him drugs to the Lord as well.  God did- all five.  (Side note: women- take note!  K attributes his coming to Christ to his praying mother, who apparently prayed for 4 hours/ day for 23 years- God moves when we pray!!! Happy Mother’s Day)

Whew!  Tired of our listening stories yet?  One more- K told personal testimony of Arab leaders and millions of Arab Muslims coming to Christ.  We were enthralled.  Stunned.  Tearful even. 

Did I mention that he prefaced much of what he said by saying that we must change our frequency of listening from CNN to the news of what Christ is doing in the Middle East?  Can someone please give me another word besides amazing???

Maybe tomorrow we will have more about what we say.  For today, it has been about listening.  Good night friends. 

Charlotte

p.s. We added some pictures to our previous blog entry... fyi. =)

3 comments:

  1. that is so awesome. praise God for His faithfulness, and His power, and His saving hand. I am amazed at all you have gotten to experience in just your first 24 hours there. so exciting. thank you for trusting God and following Him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, what a post. K's testimony and experiences are VERY encouraging. Coming from another faith which holds very little satisfaction into Christianity, and seeing the power of the truth is beyond anything, an incomparable feeling. From Islam to Christianity and Hinduism to Christianity..may the Lord be praised for His great mercy and compassion on those He chooses. I wish I could meet K now....definitely on the other side of glory. Thank you all for your comprehensively detailed post. I eagerly await tomorrow. Love, Asha-

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad to hear what God is doing over there. God will NOT be defined by how we think HE should act... thank you GOD!!
    He does every single day do MIRACLES... I am glad you all are getting to hear how God is working.

    ReplyDelete